The reality of self-employment has eaten into earnings this month, with freelance builders roughly £50 a week worse off than they were during April.
It’s a sharper-than-usual drop of 5.5% on average, with those in the North-East particularly feeling the pinch. “Their earnings have spiralled down by 8.4%, which is one of the biggest monthly drops we’ve seen anywhere for a long, long time,” says Hudson Contract Managing Director Ian Anfield.
“Some clients are telling us there is less work in the pipeline, which is allowing them to take a more controlled approach to ongoing projects, and as a result, their freelancers are doing fewer hours. We’re also seeing smaller firms pricing up work for larger contractors to reflect the risk of dealing with the financially troubled outsourcing sector.”
Region | May 2019 Average | Change from April 2019 |
North East | £700.00 | -8.4% |
North West | £798.00 | -4.7% |
Yorkshire & Humber | £773.00 | -5.6% |
East Midlands | £847.00 | -6.1% |
West Midlands | £878.00 | -6.0% |
Wales | £766.00 | -2.9% |
East of England | £873.00 | -5.9% |
London | £853.00 | -5.1% |
South East | £845.00 | -4.6% |
South West | £736.00 | -6.5% |
To view our interactive pay trends map click here
With the national fall in earnings, no individual trade gained this month and the ones that lost most are:
Looking at the bigger picture, while housebuilding expanded last month, civil engineering declined for the fourth successive month and and commercial remained subdued.
“Brexit-related anxiety continues to dominate decision making and project authorisations,” Ian Anfield observes. “The latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index survey highlights the sharpest drop in construction employment for six-and-a-half years, along with cautious recruitment activity.
“It’s not been a good month for the economy, the industry, or for freelancers. But even so, even after this month’s fall, labour-only subbies are still earning the equivalent of £43,000 a year, as against the average UK salary of £29,000.”